Have $8k in savings, is buying/living in a used gen2 reasonable?

Just beware out here: most have salvage titles or rebuilt batteries.

 

We (family and friends) have had much better luck finding good cars using http://www.cargurus.com . They have a lot of really good filtering tools to narrow down your search and pull listings from multiple sources.

 

I have only owned a Prius with over 100k miles and I can say that as the battery weakens with age the engine has to start more often to recharge the battery when running AC. In bumper to bumper traffic my battery runs down in 5-8 mins and then it only charges to about 45% on the info screen before the engine shuts off. Then in 3-4 minutes it cycles again and the process continues. When the engine starts it makes the car shake and it would be difficult for me to sleep like that.
If you have not test drove one to see how it feels when the engines kicks on, I would start there.

 

it can only tell you the current health. nothing can tell you that a module will not go out of balance tomorrow.

 

You might find a good deal on a Prius if you know the owner of a body shop. Those guys go to car auctions with their dealer licenses and buy cars with little or nothing wrong with them and sell them for a profit, but they don't exclusively advertise their business like being in a used car lot. Usually it is for side money as their main income is fixing beat up cars. There will be the mark up of course but nowhere near that of a dealership and he will be using dealer priced discounts at the auction.

 

As far as what car to get, I would look for a 07-09 Prius in the 75-150k mileage range. If you happen to spot a deal on a 10 or 11, that would work too. See this thread if you haven't already as there are lots of tips: Considering buying a gen 2 Prius. Need advice. | Page 2 | PriusChat

As your budget goes, don't forget to consider the things you'll need to buy to be comfortable in the car.

I've slept in my Prius for as much as 5 days in a row. My tips:
1. You'll want to be as comfortable as possible sleeping I recommend this: Milliard Tri Folding Mattress, Single. I have the twin version and it's super comfortable. If I was living and not merely camping, I'd get the single version.
2. Wire a cigarette lighter plug directly to the rear battery. This will let you charge your phone overnight with an adapter or plug in a low speed fan.
3. The A/C is theoretically nice to have at night, but I don't like it. I find it hard to sleep with the sound and vibration that comes from the engine turning on and off. Therefore I:
4. Buy a small low power fan you can plug into the cigarette lighter plug. Using this will avoid the need for A/C at a lot of times.
5. Organization and quick access to your things will be key. When I camp I get frustrated at not being able to find things, and needing every night to move everything for space for my bed to sleep. You'll want really convenient storage spaces otherwise this can drive you mad.

Bigger picture:
When we get stressed, we'll micromanage the parts of our lives that we're in control of, and lose focus on the bigger picture of what we want our life to look like (true for humans - stress changes how our brain works!). Consider if you genuinely want to live in your car. My suggestion is to focus on the highest priority things in your life first (it sounds like your goal is to move to SF, get a good job, and establish yourself there). With the money saved, its possible for you to live for a few months in an apartment and look for work. Be open to the idea of abandoning living in a Prius if a better opportunity presents itself. Consider if you need to invest $5k in a Prius to be able to move to San Fran or if there are other options available to you if this is your goal.

I moved to Denver in 2009 (absolute bottom of the economy) with only a bit of savings, got the cheapest apartment I could find and looked for work. A month later I'd found a good job and life took me from there.

 

You can always do uber or lift or grubhub etc in your prius to make side money while traveling. Although you’ll have to keep your interior set up clean. Many people on youtube are doing this tho...so check there for ideas.

 

sounds like a great life! when you got nothing, you got nothing to lose

 

I don't know about grubhub, but Gen 2 Prii are too old for Uber, Ola and Lyft.

 

The OP disappeared from his thread 2-1/2 years ago. I wonder what happened.

 

You thinking Mercury years?

He's only been not seen for 18 weeks.

But no follow up.

Oh well, the thread will live on.

 

Love your conclusion!!
I didn't look him up to see if he was active on other threads, but his last post on this one was June 30, 2017.

 

Interesting thread. Anyway, his most recent post last September indicates he bought the Prius, banged it up a bit, kept driving it and now he's getting some codes. Wanted to get back to Mom and Dad. But it sounds like he got a fixed place to live in California and wasn't camping out in the car anymore.

 

Interesting thread. Anyway, his most recent post last September indicates he bought the Prius, banged it up a bit, kept driving it and now he's getting some codes. Wanted to get back to Mom and Dad. But it sounds like he got a fixed place to live in California and wasn't camping out in the car anymore.

 

Ah.....youth.

Hope it worked out!!

 

Actually for regular uberx ...the car can be from 2006 or later. So gen 2 prius from 2006-2009 is fine. And Lyft is 15 years so 2005-2009 prius is fine. But some cities do have diff rules with age limit of uber/lyft cars so i don’t want to say for certain. But you are right about grubhub & food delivery apps. They don’t care as much about what year or what car you drive

 

With a name like GRUBhub, you would think that any car would do. Grubs are not food. They are insects.

 

Insects are food in many parts of the world. But, grub means food.

 

This made me laugh. I had a friend who designed a line of plush toys called “snuggle grubs” - of insects & insect larvae. Lol. But yeah, you can drive any car doing food service apps like grubhub, doordash & uber eats i believe. Its only with ride sharing that you need to drive a certain age/type of vehicle.